By Benjamin Pham
British Airways CEO Urges Push For Reopening U.K. Border
Europe is the classic travel hotspot for tourists, and every summer, transatlantic flights are tremendously busy. This summer is no different as the continent is a main focus of the airline industry because popular hotspots such as France and Spain, among several other countries, reopened their borders for vaccinated travelers.
However, the United Kingdom is not one of the countries that have reopened its borders for tourists to enter, and, in response, British Airways’ CEO, Sean Doyle, met with leaders of U.S. carriers and London’s Heathrow Airport to safely and swiftly reopen travel between the U.S. and the U.K. soon to accommodate the summer travel surge.
The ongoing rollout of vaccinations and encouragement for the public to become vaccinated prompted a sense of motivation to eventually resume flights between the U.K. and the U.S. Prior to the upcoming G7 summit, Doyle spoke with leaders from Delta, United, American, jetBlue and Virgin Atlantic who fly between both nations, regarding the impact of lifting travel bans on the global economy and trade, tourism and arrival requirements.
“As President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson meet this week, they must address the transatlantic ban that is separating our two low-risk countries at a major cost to our citizens and economies. We urgently need them to look to the science and base their judgments on proper risk analysis, allowing us all to benefit from the protection offered by our successful vaccine rollouts,” Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO of British Airways, said.
“In the UK this means making the traffic light system fit for purpose, including a pathway to restriction-free travel for vaccinated travelers, and getting rid of complexity surrounding ‘amber list’ countries, eliminating quarantine and reducing the number of tests passengers are required to take,” Doyle…